John McCain (R), United States Senator (AZ) and Barack Obama (D), United States Senator (IL)

Date:

September 26, 2008

Location:

The University of Mississippi

City:

Oxford, MS

Time:

9:00 - 10:30 p.m. Eastern

Sponsor:

Commission on Presidential Debates

Moderator:

Jim Lehrer, PBS

Topic:

Foreign Policy and National Security

Viewership:

52.4 million (Data provided by Nielsen Media Research)

Format:

90-minute debate with candidates standing at podiums. Candidates questioned in turn with two-minute responses, followed by five minutes of open discussion between moderator and candidates for each question.

90-minute debate with candidates standing at podiums. Candidates questioned in turn with 90-second responses, followed by two minutes of open discussion for each question. Ninety second closing statements.

John McCain (R), United States Senator (AZ) and Barack Obama (D), United States Senator (IL)

Date:

October 7, 2008

Location:

Belmont University

City:

Nashville, TN

Time:

9:00 - 10:30 p.m. Eastern

Sponsor:

Commission on Presidential Debates

Moderator:

Tom Brokaw, NBC

Topic:

All Topics

Viewership:

63.2 million (Data provided by Nielsen Media Research)

Format:

90-minute town hall meeting debate. Candidates questioned by uncommitted voters identified by the Gallup Organization. In addition, moderator has discretion to include questions submitted online. Candidates questioned in turn with two-minute responses, followed by one-minute open discussion for each question.